THE SEAGULL
About
On a remote country estate, the stillness of the lake hides a quiet storm of longing.
When a celebrated actress arrives to spend the summer with her brother, old tensions rise to the surface and carefully buried dreams begin to stir. Her daughter - a young playwright searching for a new way to speak to the world - prepares to stage her experimental work, risking far more than her pride as she dares to be seen.
Around her gather restless souls: a woman aching for recognition, a writer searching for meaning, lovers caught between hope and regret, and those who cannot let go of who they once imagined they might be.
In this house, love is rarely returned, ambition cuts deep, and the past lingers like an echo across the water. As illusions fracture and desires collide, the only certainty is that something must change.
Chekhov’s darkly comic masterpiece is reignited for the 21st century by one of the most exciting voices in British theatre, Anya Reiss, winner of the Most Promising Playwright at both the Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Awards.
Unusual Crowd Theatre Company bring a fresh LGBTQ+ perspective to this timeless story, with same-sex relationships woven naturally into the fabric of the play - illuminating its themes of love, identity and belonging with honesty and warmth.
A tender, piercing and unexpectedly funny portrait of people searching for meaning in a world that refuses to stand still.
About Unusual Crowd Theatre Company
We provide opportunities for performers coming back after career breaks — including parents and carers — as well as newly trained actors seeking to establish themselves in a challenging profession. Through public performances, our members gain professional credits towards Equity membership within a supportive, high-standard rehearsal environment.
Playwright - Anya Reiss
Anya Reiss began her writing career in theatre with her debut play Spur of the Moment (Royal Court Theatre) in 2010. She won the Most Promising Playwright Award at both the Critics Circle and Evening Standard awards that year, along with Best New Play at the TMAs.
Her follow-up play The Acid Test (Royal Court Theatre) was staged the next year, with her National Theatre Connections play Forty-Five Minutes (National Theatre/Orange Tree) following in 2013. Her original version of The Seagull (Southwark Playhouse) was directed by Russell Bolam in 2012, and they worked on two further modern-day Chekhovs together - first at the same venue, then at the St James Theatre. Since then, Anya's version of Spring Awakening has toured with Headlong, as well as adapting Oliver Twist (Regent's Park Theatre) in 2017.
Anya's new version of The Seagull (Harold Pinter Theatre) - directed by Jamie Lloyd, and starring Emilia Clarke - opened in the summer of 2022. Her adaptation of A Doll's House will be coming to The Almeida Theatre March 2026, directed by Joe Hill-Gibbins.
In television, Anya was the creator, executive producer, and writer of Becoming Elizabeth (Starz). Previously she was a lead writer on Ackley Bridge (Channel 4) and a core writer on EastEnders (BBC). Reviews of Anya Reiss' Seagull 2022 West End Production:
